Epsy 142 - 1

There are many perspectives in which one can analyze and understand why a person decides to commit a crime. Some perspectives are social learning theory, strain theory, classical and rational choice theory, deterrence theory, biological and psychological positivist theories, among others. However, for the purposes of this paper, the biological and psychological theories will be discussed.

It is unfortunate that crime exists in our daily lives. There really is no way to stopping crime completely, no matter how many laws or punishment are present, people will continue to keep breaking rules. There are many theories of why that may be the case, for example, Caesar Lombroso

There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behaviour, these include:

In Criminology, Prof. Boldt has either talked about or brought up a few dozen theories in just a few weeks. However one theory seems to show up more than the others, and is the more dominant explanation in describing criminal behavior. This concept is referred to as Rational Choice Theory. Over time theories have been produced to explain and help understand what leads to criminal behavior. The reason why people have studied these theories so closely is because of the helpful nature it provides to professionals. It allows them to make informed decisions on treatment methods for offenders or victims. This also helps the professionals enforce policy change if need be. I believe in order to start understanding what leads to criminal behavior,

Why do people commit crimes? Also, why does crime exist in our societies? The concern of these questions is heavily weighed on the criminal justice system and criminologists. In actuality, a question like these are very tough to answer. In this paper, the aim is to explore the weaknesses and strength of theories surrounding crime. Also, I shall evaluate the explanations given by using numerous psychological factors in addition to social learning theories and the general aggression model in relation to aggressive and violent behavior, and also the personality theories such as the 'big five' model and personality dimensions theory, in relation to antisocial, impulsive and criminal behavior. Then I shall draw a conclusion. By focussing on these

Rational Choice Theory vs. Social Learning Theory The study of crime and punishment stand as the essential components of criminology. This is why it is vital to learn and understand why people commit crime (Akers, 1990). Over the years, several theories have emerged and are continuously being examined individually and in

Why People Commit Crime: A Strain Theory Perspective SOCI150 Criminology Deviance, criminal behavior and wrong doings; why do they occur? People don 't just wake up one morning and say "I 'm off from work today so why don 't I just go rob a bank". There has to be something in

The best theory that is best to clarify criminal conduct is Rational choice theory. This theory was picked specifically in light of the fact that criminal conduct is the same as noncriminal conduct. This has been looked into on account of individuals perpetrated violations, nobody constrains them to do anything that he or she wouldn't like to do yet another reason is they surmise that the reward for the wrongdoing would be more fulfilling to their requirements as opposed to having nothing and remaining out of inconvenience like noncriminal individuals. Conceded there has been a lot of research done to make sense of what drives individuals to carry out wrongdoings, keep on doing the violations and what could really make them stop perpetrate

I believe the theory that best explains why crime happens is the psychoanalytic perspective. I believe this is the best theory because it focuses more on the wants and acts of the criminal rather an their personality or lack of control. The psychoanalytic perspective more accurately describes a reason to why people commit crimes. Not all individuals could be identified from a personality trait or low levels of self control. Therefore, the psychoanalytic perspective would give the best explanation to why crime happens.

Theories of Crime Causation: Trait Theory and Rational Choice Theory Introduction Theories of crime causation get to the fundamental characteristics of human nature. Theories of crime causation can be separated into trait theories and choice theories. Both types of theories make valid points about the causes of crime, yet they are have different implications for preventing the causes of crime. Thesis: Trait theories and choice theories both assume that humans are self-interested, but their conceptions of self-interest limit the applicability of each to certain types of crime. Trait theories appear more suited for explaining the causes of violent crime, whereas choice theories are more appropriate to property crimes or economic crimes.

Intro The search for causes of crime forms the basis of most criminological studies. There are numerous explanations for crime: psychological, evolutionary, genetical,

Similarities and Differences in Sociological Theories of Crime Walden University Similarities and Differences in Sociological Theories of Crime Sociological theories of crime contain a great deal of useful information in the understanding of criminal behavior. Sociological theories are very useful in the study of criminal behavior because unlike psychological and biological theories they are mostly macro level theories which attempt to explain rates of crime for a group or an area rather than explaining why an individual committed a crime. (Kubrin, 2012). There is however some micro level sociological theories of crime that attempts to explain the individual’s motivation for criminal behavior (Kubrin, 2012). Of the contemporary

Sociological and Psychological Theories of Crime Causation The aim of this essay is to compare, contrast and evaluate two sociological theories of crime causation and two psychological theories of crime causation. Sociological Theories of crime, Labelling and Structural Functionalism/ Strain. Howard Becker is a sociologist that is often credited with the development of

People commit crimes for various reasons. These various reasons got to do with social, economic, and cultural reason. These factors trigger an individual to do criminal activities. Social reasons are peer pressure, and school failure. Economic reasons are poverty. Cultural reasons are hatred. The combination of these factors is behind a person who commits crimes.

Figuring out why people commit crimes is one of the central concerns of criminology. Do most criminals act rationally after weighing the costs of crime? Is society ever to blame for an individual to commit a crime? Do mental diseases or even genetics factor into whether a person will live a life of crime. Over the years, many people have developed theories to try to answer these questions. In fact, the number of theories of why people commit crimes sometimes seems to equal the number of criminologists. I explore these questions and much more in the paper that follow.